Safety railway-car



(No Modl.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0. 0. GILMAN SAFETY RAILWAY GAR.

No. 402,157. Patented Apr. 30. 1889;

FIGJZ UIIIEHIIE FIGJ N. PETERS PhohrLilhogrlphuv. warnm, 0 C4 s Sheets-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

0. 0 GILMAN. v SAFETY RAILWAY GAR.

', PatentedApr. 30, 1889 l'riu-enforr I Q Charles C'arrqZZ Gilmah.

f z B y/Lz's flfio" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES CARROLL GILMAN, OF ELDORA, lOlVA.

SAFETY RAI LWAY-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,157, dated April 30, 1889.

Application filed November 5,1887. Serial No. 254,420. (No model.)

Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Safety Railway-Cars; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art-to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a railwaycar embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of a portion of the top of a car, showing a removable part or cover fitting in an opening in which it rests and wherein at,

certain times it is temporarily locked. Fig.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view through that portion of the top of the car embodying my invention, the car being represented as broken away at points beyond the limits comprising the invention. It shows an electric battery at one end of the car-roof and electro-magnets and pivoted armatures and part of a removable cover (in section) at the middle portion 'of the roof. --Fig. 4 is a View from the inside of the car of a part of the top end portion of the car provided with an electric-circfiit breaker, the position of the said top being one corresponding to that of a car partly turned over sidewise-'say at an angle of about forty-five degrees with the horizon. is the same view, excepting that the top of the car is in a position such as it occupies when a car is standing upright on a railway track, or is in its normal position for running, and, besides, the circuit-breaker being represented as slightly modified in construction, differing somewhat from that of the principal form shown in Figs. 4 and 11, as hereinafter fully described. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of a metal ring or bushing for fitting within a circular opening made in the top or uppermost roof portion of the car to which the improvement is applied. Fig. 7 is a sectional detail perspective view of the two parts that serve to form the cover when united. The cover 'fits within the bushing (shown in- Fig. 5 i

Fig. 6 in section,) when that is secured in position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 8 is a side View, in elevation, showing on an enlarged scale one of the electro-magnets with its pivoted armature and a part of the coverin section, as well as a sectional view of part of the ring or bushing within which the cover fits and a part of the roof of the car in section. Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the parts shown in Fig. 8, it showing, besides, an electric-circuit breaker in its relation to the removable cover. It also shows an electro-magnet and small portions of the wires serving in the electric circuit. Fig. 10 is a sectional View of a part of the car-roof, as also of. a part of the removable cover and a part of the bushing, and a partly-sectional view of the circuit-breaker shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is aview in diagram of an electric battery, an electro-magnet, the two circuitbreakers, a part of the removable cover, a part of the car-roof, two cells of an electric battery, and electric conducting-wires passenger-cars. It has as its object the provision of ready means of escape from a car for the occupants thereof in case of the overturning of the car.

The invention consists in the various combinations of the elements involved in the construction hereinafter described, and expressed in the claims.

It not infrequently occurs in railroad disasters, when cars are thrown from the track and overturned, and perchance set on fire, that the passengers or occupants of the car find it not only difficult to make their escape from the car, but at times are practically imprisoned therein, with no opening or exit at:

fording' the possibility of escape hen the car is turned upon its side, escape by the windows on the then upper side is often impracticable, and in violent overturning, as often happens in railroad accidents and disasters, the doors are bound between the sides of their casings by reason of the strained, wrenched, or crushed condition of the carbody.

My invention is designed to afford means of escape, in case of an accident or disaster of this character, through an exit automatically provided in the car-roof at the instant of the overturning. For this purpose I construct the car with an opening in its roof of circular, oblong, or any suitable shape, but of a size suificiently large to admit the passage or egress of the largest or most rotund person; and I provide a cover therefor, securely closing the same, and remaining in place and retained therein by gravity alone, excepting at certain times, as long as the car continues in its upright position, but free or rendered free to be thrown off or away from the opening instantly upon the overturning of the car. The car-body is of the ordinary construction, aside from the changes made in applying my invention thereto, and hence will not require particular description. One or more openings may be provided in the roof of the car, to be closed by a cover or covers of the pattern forming a feature of my invention, the special connections hereinafter described being applied thereto. The opening or openings may be oblong in shape or round, or of any other suitable shape and dimension, the cover or covers being made to correspond and fit therein and close the same.

A is a railway passenger-car of ordinary .construction, excepting so far as it is modified in its roof portion through the application of my invention thereto, in the way of providing for the escape of occupants in case of the car being overturned.

B is the ear-roof.

C is the main frame of the removable cover.

B is a bushing set within an opening, b,in the top of the roof, wherein it is securely fastened.

D is an electric battery comprised of a couple of cells and located near the roof at one end of the car.

E are electro-magnets, there being two located near the opening in the roof and opposite to each other and secured to the under side of the roof by means of brackets.

F are armatures hinged at their lower ends, their upper ends projecting up within the opening I), each of said armatures standing vertically close to an electro-magnet and having a catch at its upper extremity to engage the cover at certain times and hold it down.

fare the catch-pieces orv shouldered lugs at the upper ends of the armatures F.

f are pins upon which the armatures are pivoted.

f are horizont-ally-projecting pins near the lower parts of the armatures to limit the movement of the armatures when they are swung or tilted away from the electro-magnets, said pins meeting in such movement with parts f of the frame-work supporting the electro-magnets and the armatures.

f are the bent ends of springs f fastened by screws f to the aforesaid frame-work, said ends f bearing upward against the inner angular shoulders, f near the pivot-pins f of the armatures, thus tending to throw or swing the armatures away from the electro-magnets.

G are brackets secured by screws g to the under side of the roof and forming framework for supporting the electro-magnets and their armatures.

H and I are chutes secured in the roof near one end, and being inclined at an angle of about twenty degrees, and having slots h and t presented toward the central portion or middle of the car, so as to afford a view to persons within the car of a ball, K, that is adapted to be rolled in the chutes, or rather from a position that it ordinarily occupies intermediate of the proximate ends of the chutes into one or the other of the chutes. Said chutes H and I, the ball K, and the immediate electrical connections form an electric-circuit breaker. The circuit at this point ordinarily remains closed, while at the other circuitbreaker (near the electro-magnets) the circuit is generally open.

h is a flat metal spring fastened securely at one end to an inner part of the car-roof and there connected by a binding-screw or otherwise with an electric conducting-wire having its other end also electrically connected with one of the elements of an ordinary electric battery of one or two or more cells.

1" is another flat metal spring secured to the roof at a similar point opposite the spring h its other and inner end projecting justa short distance above the platinum point 7L2, affixed on the upper surface and near the inner end of the spring h. A binding-screw or other means electrically connects the spring 2" at its rigidly-secured end with an electric conducting-wire arranged for being electrically connected with the other element of the electric battery, whereby a complete circuit may be formed at certain timesthat is, when there is no break in the circuit at either of the circuit-breakers. In this construction of the circuit-breaker (shown in Figs. 4, 11, and 12) the nature of the material constituting the ball K is of no importance, since it is not designed to serve in this instance as an electric conductor, but merely answers as a weight to ordinarily hold the inner ends of the springs h and t" in electrical connection, but adapted to be rolled at certain times into either one of the chutes H and I, and thus relieve the upper spring, 1', from its pressure, whereby its movable end springs up and away from the platinum point 72,2 on the inner end of the spring h, thus breaking the circuit at that point. In the modified form of this circuitbreaker (shown in Fig. 5) the chutes H and I themselves are made to serve aselectric conductors, the wires of the battery being electrically connected with their outer ends at the points indicated by the binding-screws i and principal form it serves as a good and reliaimportant that the ball K should be formed the ball Kbeing the meansof electrically con- Ilecting their inner ends. In this case it is of material that is an excellent conductor of electricity-as, for example, copper, iron, &c. The space between the inner ends of the chutes H and I in the principal, as also in the modified,"form of this circuit-breaker is not great enoughto allow the said ball to fall through between, but just suflicient to allow it to rest temporarily at that point and,,in the modified'form, exert considerable pressure by its wedge-like action against the inner and proximate ends of said chutes,.whereby to insure good electrical connection, while in the ble weight, inboth forms keeping its intermediate position and completing the electrical connection-,so far as this particular circuit-breaker is concerned, until it has been violently displaced and rolled into one or the the car.

other of the chutes, as by the overturning of The other circuit-breaker is located near the removable cover.

L is a flat metal spring forming a part of said circuit-breaker, secured to the under part of the car-roof by a screw, that serves also as I a binding-screw to forman electrical connection with the insulated conducting-wire coiled upon and leading from the electro-magnets.

l is an upturned point at the inner end of the metal spring L.

wire leading directly to the-battery. VVhenthe spring L bears against the metal strip Z Z is a flat metal strip located near the end of themetal spring L and between it and the under side of l the car-roof, it being secured thereto by a binding-screw, 'Z ,fo'rming an electrical connection with the conductingwhich it'tends to do and does, except when forced away and downward by the lower portion of the cover pressing,-by reason of the covers weight, upon the upturned end l thereof, electrical connection is established between said metal spring Land the metal strip 1 providing the connecting electric conducting-' wires are otherwise incomplete circuit with the battery. If, however, the circuit were broken at the other circuit-breaker or elsewhere, the intimate connection or bearing of the spring L on the strip 1 would be without any effect in the way of completing the cir-' cuit,since the break ofan electrical circuit at one point renders the connection or disconnection of the other parts that were essential in completing the circuit of no avail. The purpose of completing the circuit at this point atcertain times is to excite the electro-magnets to act instantly upon the pivotedarma' tures, causing them to grapple the lower part of the cover and retain it against removal from above Hence, when the car is in its normal uprightposition on the track, the -instantaneous completionof the circuit is, ever in'orde'r upon any attempt, as by a person on the roof of the car, at removing the cover; but up to such time the circuit is especially desired to be a broken one for the sake of economizing the strength of the battery and preventing waste that a constant circuit c '7 would necessarily result in. The cover formed fitting over the ridge I), having the outward beveled surface 19 and resting upon the horizontal-exterior flange, b, of the bushing. The lower projecting flange, b, of the bushing B fits closely within the openingb of the car-roof B, the exterior encircling flange, b, resting upon the roof and bringing its shoulder 12 close upon the circular edge of the said opening.

The cores 6' 6 forming the poles of the electro-magnets E when the surrounding insulated coils are electrically charged, are secured attheir outer ends in the vertical arms of the brackets G and project inwardly to points close to the pivoted armatures F when they are swung inward to their farthest limit,

as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8, the springs f tending to throw said armatures inward, as

well as their own weight, the latter tendency being due" to their being pivoted at their lower ends at points outside of their verticalcenters. Hence upon passing a current of electricity through the conducting-wires and insulated coils, as is done when completing the circuit, the armatures are instantly attracted by the electro-magnets, causing them to swing over into contact with their poles and carrying their catch-pieces f upon theshoulders c of the flange of the cover 0 0 thereby holding the latter down until such a time as the circuit is broken.

tures would again swing inward, thus releasing theirvhold upon the cover.

As shown in Fig. 11, the insulated Wire 1 passes from one element of the battery D to one electro-magnet and then to the other,- being coiled around their respective cores, and then to the binding-screw, connecting electrically with the metal spring L of the circuitbreaker near the removable cover. The other insulated wire, 00, passes from the other ele-' ment of the battery D and is electrically connected by a binding-screw to the metalspring h. When the metal springs h and 0 are electrically connected, the said wire as may be considered as continued (as 00) onto the binding-screw, connecting it electrically with th I 30 Two or more electro-magnets with pivoted flat metal strip Z (See Fig. 11.)

armsprovided with catch-pieces may be used,

or but a single electro-magnetwith a single' catch piece or device, or suitable catch-pieces- Upon the in-- terruption orbreakin g of the circuit the arma-' operated by a single armature may be employed, it only being necessary in the latter case to provide the single catch device or the pivoted or sliding catch-pieces with a connection or connections extending from the movable armature, so as to move therewith as the electric circuit is made complete or broken.

The operation of the electric battery and connections, embracing the feature of the looselyresting removable cover closing an escapeopening in the car-roof, is as follows: \Vhen the car is upright, the ball K, at its intermediate point between the downwardly-inclined ends of the chutes II I at the end of the carroof, insures electrical connection between the wires .2? and as, provided the latter is e1ectrieally connected around and to the battery D; but it is not so connected ordinarily, since the parts of the other circuit-breaker near the cover are held apart by the pressure caused by the weight of the cover, the lower flange of the latter resting upon the upturned end of one of said parts, and thereby bearing it down and away from the flat metal strip with which it would make electrical connection were they brought into such contact as they are designed to maintain when not forcibly separated. Hence the ball K, as long as the car remains in its upright position, naturally rests at its place intermediate of the downwardly-inclined ends of the chutes and so connects the wires stand 0:, through their springs h and i, that all that is required to'complete the circuit and thereby excite the electro-magnets and occasion the attraction and movement of their pivoted armatures,whereby their catch-pieces shall catch, seize, or grapple the cover, is simply completing the circuit by removing the weight from the metal spring of that circuitbreaker near the cover. This is done upon the mere upward movement of said cover, its lower flange being thereby carried up and away from the metal spring upon which it pressed, and thus allowing the resiliency of said spring to bring the upper flat surface of its free end into electrical connection with the fiat" metal strip above it. Thus,when the car is in its uprightor normal position upon a railway-track, any one lifting up the cover from on the car-roof or pushing it up from the interior of the car will effect the completion of the electric circuit, thus resulting in the instantaneous catching and holding the cover from removal by the outward movement of the pivoted armatures carrying their catch-pieces over and upon the inwardly-proj ectin g flange on the lower part of said cover. This would also be the case when the car is overturned were it not for the separation of parts at the other circuit-breaker, (at or near the end of the car-roof) which would result from the ball K being rolled from its intermediate position between the chutes II and I; but since it would be so displaced it becomes wholly immaterial whether the parts of the circuitbreaker near the cover are separated or not,

as the electric circuit has alreadybeen broken, thus allowing the cover to be thrown off by the momentum of the overturning car or pushed oif by hand or otherwise removed.

It is not essential that the top portion or circular plate, 0, be of glass, as other material would answer, that, however, being preferred as a means of admitting light into the car. It, moreover, is not essential that a bushing, B, should in all cases be provided. It, however, serves to fit within the roof and atford throughits large central aperture the preferable form of opening in the car-roof for an escape and for receiving the removable cover that is adapted to fit the said opening for closing it. Moreover, it is not necessary that the circuit-breakers and wvire connections be in the precise form shown and described. llence it is not to be understood that the invention is limited to such particulars otherwise than as specifically set forth and expressed in the claims, variations in minor features of mechanical construction being within the scope of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a car provided with an opening in its roof, a cover for said opening, and catches arranged for engaging and disengaging with said cover, in combination with an electric battery and connections for operating said catches, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a car provided. with an opening in its roof, a cover for the opening, a catch or grapple device to catch and hold the cover and adapted also to be released therefrom, an armature, an electro-magnet, an electric battery, and a wire circuit, in combination with a circuit-breaker and means for operating the latter, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a car having an opening in its top or roof, a cover to fit and close said opening, a catch device adapted to engage and hold said cover, an armature for operating the catch device to cause it to engage the cover, and means tending to move the armature in an opposite direction to disengage the catch device from the cover, in combination with an electric battery, an electro-magnet, an electric-circuit connection, and means for breaking the circuit, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A car having an opening in'its roof, a cover adapted to close the opening, and a catch mechanism to engage and hold the cover and also adapted to be disengaged therefrom to release the same, in combination with electro-magnetic mechanism for operating the same, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. A car provided with an opening of a size adapted for the escape of its occupants or passengers when unobstructed, a cover fitting said opening, and a catch device adapted to engage and hold said cover when the car is in its upright or normal position and to release the cover when the car is overturned, in combination with an electric battery, an electro: magnet, electric-circuit connections, and an armature connected with said catch device, substantially as and for the purpose de- 1 scribed.

6. A car provided with an opening for the escape of passengers therethrough when unobstructed, a coverloosely fitting and closing said opening, and a catch device for fastening the cover in place, in combination with electromagnetic mechanism arranged to release the catch device from the cover upon the overturning of the car, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. In a car having an opening in its roof and a cover fitting to close the same, the combination of pivoted armatures provided with catches for engaging the cover, electro-magnets for operating the armatures in one direction, springs to operate them in the opposite 1 direction, an electric battery, circuitbreakers, and an electric-circuit wire, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. In a car having an opening in its roof and a cover, 0 0 to loosely fit within and close said opening, the electro-magnets E and spring-actuated pivoted armatures F, supported in bracket-frames G, in combination with an electric battery, D, an electric wire, and circuit-breakers, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. In a car provided with abushing, B fitting in its roof and affording through its central part an opening for the escape of passengers, a cover, 0 c fitting said opening,

electro-niagnets E, and pivoted armatures F, 1

CHARLES CARROLL GILMAN.

Witnesses: 7

CLARENCE BURLING, GEORGE EARL GILMAN. 

